Balanced perfectly on two acres in the enclave of the Village of Southampton, enveloped within the 9900 square feet of indoor living space are 7 bedrooms, 8.5 baths, 7 fireplaces, library, media room & an elevator to all floors. It is the formula for exquisite living.

NEW YORK (PRWEB) March 10, 2020

As the electric gate opens wide, you will see the most traditional of Hamptons' homes affectionately known as The Beachmont. Impeccably maintained, a short walk to the ocean, warm ocean breezes in summer, warm and cozy in the fall and winter this elegant and lovely home fits the desired lifestyle of a long-established classic abode in the Village; so much so that the aficionado of the area, the late iconic TV personality Joan Rivers joked, "I go to the funerals of my girlfriends and I hear the minister say, She's in a better place.' What? Are you kidding me? No, she's not She had a house in the Hamptons!"

Tim Davis, Licensed real estate Broker for Corcoran Group Real Estate knows the reality of the joke a resident of the Hamptons, and one who has first- hand knowledge of the most desirable places to live would agree and says that this special place is the "Quintessential summer home that feels right all year long. Its palette is "Classic Hamptons" and light-filled that natural light that comes in this part of the country that artists dearly desire. Besides that, the home is in excellent condition, lovingly taken care of, has excellent design, and is well decorated."

This home is refined, architecturally pleasing, and is significant to the concept of Hamptons living for its quality, style, and pedigree. A home like this that makes a statement and contributes to the historic and aesthetic landscape of the area both inside and outside with canopies of verdant trees that are visible from the living spaces, is so desirable. These very living spaces each connect to the rest of the interiors and levels. Hardwood flooring throughout supply warmth of texture and contrast to the hues, as do the seven fireplaces.

The first level features an open eat-in kitchen, a formal dining room that is adjacent to the Great Room, imbues the spaces with a sense of direction as you look across the house bathed in sunlight. Sightlines are unobstructed; recessed high ceilings add spaciousness and architectural touches along with wide passageways leading to the magnificent library. The second level bedrooms are situated nicely for privacy. The Master bedroom with a large sitting room and large bathroom affords the retreat that is necessary for comfort.

The sprawling mansion was built by a prominent CEO of a large global firm for his family as an ultimate holiday retreat to spend summers. Mature landscaping for privacy, with the ocean near and every activity for young and old, the nearly two acres of outdoor areas complement all-weather resort-style tennis, swimming in a heated Gunite pool, along with pool house, gardening, lots of spaces for children, and outdoor patios for casual gatherings. The two-level plus a 3,000 square foot lower level, provides ample space for indoor activities with a theater, recreation, and game rooms, along with an elevator that reaches all other floors. With the ocean within walking distance, there is every activity imaginable for both young and old.

Topography, trees, seclusion, significant classic Southampton architecture, and a pleasing scale wrap this house up in red ribbons for those that appreciate quality all year long.

Click here to view listing: https://timdavishamptons.com/437-wickapogue-road/.

Contact Information:

THOMAS DAVIS

6317029226

Thomas.Davis@corcoran.com

Property Photos:

https://timdavishamptons.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/1.jpg

https://timdavishamptons.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/2.jpg

https://timdavishamptons.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/3.jpg

https://timdavishamptons.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/4.jpg

https://timdavishamptons.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/5.jpg

https://timdavishamptons.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/6.jpg

https://timdavishamptons.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/7.jpg

For the original version on PRWeb visit: https://www.prweb.com/releases/a_classic_retreat_in_the_enclave_of_the_village_of_southampton_is_listed_by_tim_davis_hamptons_luxury_market_leader/prweb16968908.htm

See original here:
A Classic Retreat in the Enclave of the Village of Southampton is listed by Tim Davis - Hamptons Luxury Market Leader - Benzinga

1996 was the last time a hotel was built in Grover Beach. Several have been approved and planned by city council members since then and another two could be added to that list.

Grover Beach city council members will consider a plan that includes two four-story hotels and seven single-family market rate homes on a 7.3 acre lot located at 1598 El Camino Real.

Healy, Megan

"We believe that Grover Beach is undeserved in the hotel market. We believe there is a shortage of rooms in that city particular," said Akash Patel, a local co-developer who will present the proposal to city council members.

The dual hotel project proposes:

Healy, Megan

Owners of 8575 Perfetto Cafe can look over at the proposed site from their business. They hope the potential development brings more customers.

"There are a lot of small businesses like us in the area so more tourists can be more business," said Laura Zuffi, owner of 8575 Perfetto Cafe.

City leaders said the project is attractive because it could help meet long term housing goals and generate roughly $800,000 a year in a Transient Occupancy Tax.

"We see hotel development as one piece of our economic puzzle in making sure we have a strong and vital economy for our residents," said Matthew Bronson, the Grover Beach city manager.

The developers said they hope their potential investment in the city will boost its economic vitality.

"We're looking at bringing in upwards of 40 jobs to support the hotels as well as improving the frontage along El Camino Real that includes re-striping the roads and resurfacing parts of the roads in addition to preserving 1.5 acres of open space," said Darshan Patel, a local co-developer.

But for others, it's big developments like these that make their hometown unrecognizable.

"Everything that comes up here now-a-days is either a bank or a hotel, it's not something fun for the kids to do and it just makes it all more a reason I moved away," said Nicholas Nichols, a former Grover Beach resident.

Nearby residents have also expressed concerns about potential noise and blockage of views.

While planning, developers added a 35-foot landscape buffer to separate the homes and hotels, took out a proposed restaurant and rearranged the buildings to preserve oak trees.

If approved, the construction would happen in two phases. Phase one includes building one hotel which developers say could be complete by 2022.

The Grover beach Planning Commission is recommending approval of the project which city council members will consider at their meeting Monday, March 16th.

To read the full proposal and its California Environmental Quality Act review, click here.

Follow this link:
Local News Proposed project could add 2 hotels and 7 single-family homes in Grover Beach - KSBY San Luis Obispo News

Offering an exclusive front-row seat to one of the worlds most popular mountain gorilla sanctuary, One&Only Gorillas Nest began welcoming guests on 1 November 2019. Cushioned in the foothills of the breath-taking Virunga volcano range, guests can explore where few have been before in one of the worlds most exceptional natural locations. One&Only Gorillas Nest is the ultimate ultra-luxury resort in Kinigi, northwest of Rwanda and just five minutes from Volcanoes National Park. The park is home to the highest number of mountain gorillas, five dormant volcanoes and is categorised as a rainforest because its montane ecosystem.

As part of the brands strategic expansion, One&Only Gorillas Nest is the second One&Only resort in Rwanda, following the opening of One&Only Nyungwe House in 2018. Guests have been awe-inspired by both resorts, celebrating the best of what Rwanda has to offer, setting new standards for excellence in the country. Kerzner International, the leading international developer and operator of ultra-luxury resorts and residences, has plans to continue to grow and develop the One&Only brand globally.

Beautifully designed private sanctuaries seamlessly blend with the location and offer an intimate collection of 21 jungle-chic havens. Featuring 10 Forest King Lodges, four Two-Bedroom Forest Lodges, five Virunga Suites, one Ingagi and Silverback Suite, each space is designed to frame nature, surrounded by Eucalyptus trees and strategically positioned on stilts. Private decks and in-room fireplaces provide guests the opportunity to live amongst the endless landscape, inviting the outside in, and allowing for a truly unforgettable African experience. Suites offer spacious living and dining areas, as well as a true natural experience with outdoor bathtubs high amongst the trees, offering ultimate privacy. Each lodge design is modern with an African contemporary feel, showcasing the hues of the surrounding vistas, and colours of the earth and natural, local volcanic rock, with touches of black and white Rwandan imigongo patterns.

Guests can enjoy meals in the main restaurant, Nest, offering dining both indoor and out, as well as offer a private dining area for up to 22 guests. Executive Chef Bryan English and his team focus on local and organic ingredients, making use of the abundant produce from local farmers as well as his own Chefs Garden. Similar to One&Only Nyungwe House, the culinary team develop new menus daily with a focus on Rwandan and African influences, based on guests preferences and dietary needs. Private outdoor dining experiences, barbeques and picnics are also an option for guests, as well as at the Pool Bar throughout the day.

The One&Only Spa, in partnership with South African brand, Terres dAfrique, offers guests holistic treatments using plant-based African ingredients and provides two treatment suites in a private building. Guests have the opportunity to select treatments tailored to a specific area of the body. Three signature treatments, only found at One&Only Gorillas Nest, pay homage to the location, taking inspiration from the local community and surroundings. Guests will also have access to Club One, offering a relaxation room, an open-air heated pool and plunge pool, as well as the Fitness Centre with steam room and sauna, and the Pool Bar offering healthy options with fruit juices evolving into evening cocktails.

In tribute to the destination, guests have access to the activities in the National Park, but a diverse range of on-resort activities can be booked at the dedicated Experience Centre. Each activity caters to the physical strength of each guest with the Experience Team who will tailor-make each itinerary based on guests preferences. Activities that guests can enjoy include Coffee Tasting with the resorts barista and local coffee expert. Musanze (Kinigi) is a well-known coffee farming area in Rwanda and guests will get the opportunity to taste a variety of coffee beans sourced from a female-run cooperative coffee farm. Guests can also enjoy yoga on one of the outdoor decks, learn photography at the Studio, or cycle to a nearby community where they can learn about the Rwandan culture and history, the art of basket weaving and enjoy the traditional dance and music performances to name a few.

Located just two and a half hours from Kigali International Airport, guests can appreciate the scenic drive through rolling hills of the countryside and fascinating towns or be able to take a breath-taking 25-minute flight in a helicopter departing from the airport and landing at the resorts private helipad.

More:
One&Only Opened in Rwanda - RusTourismNews

A proposed office tower with an eroded form will be built in Brisbanes Fortitude Valley as part of a project that includes the redevelopment of the historic Police-Citizens Youth Club.

The two-stage project, which comprises a four-storey building housing the youth club and a 12-storey office tower, has been granted development approval by Brisbane council.

Rothelowman is the architect for the tower, which will be built as part of stage two, while Red Door Architecture has designed the youth club building.

In a design statement, Rothelowman said the tower responds Fortitude Valleys landscape, culture and history.

458 Wickham Street is a prominent site within Fortitude Valley that is embedded deeply in Brisbanes history and culture. Adjacent to the heritage Police Station, the site faces the Holy Trinity Church and is near the Valley Pool, the statement reads.

This proposal properly responds to its context by acknowledging the existing historical classicism in the precinct by embracing the landscape and climate. The rational office grid adapts to local climate conditions and erodes to respond to the human scale of the neighbouring heritage buildings.

The built form erodes to make space for landscape which will mature and age with the city. This dichotomy between historical context and contemporary office, and between landscape and built form is made visceral through proportion and materiality.

At the eroded corner of the building, deep planting provision will allow for a verdant landscape, in an attempt to reinstate the wildness [] slowly disappearing around the city.

The architecture of the erosion celebrates the culture and identity of Brisbane and its intrinsic connection to nature - a connection understood by residents and visitors alike. The erosion responds to the canopy of the tree which contributes directly to this same experience and connection.

Plans for the tower include a caf, three floors of carparking, eight floors of office space and a communal rooftop area.

The overall development was initiated by the Queensland state government and PCYC Queensland, who asked for competitive bids from the private sector to deliver a new facility for the youth centre. They awarded the project to local developer Silverstone Developments.

PCYC has operated in Fortitude Valley for more than 50 years, running programs on youth leadership and development, sport, crime-prevention and more.

The redeveloped centre will include additional community facilities, new boxing facilities, a gym, and basketball facilities.

Our governments is pleased to be working with Silverstone to deliver a new facility that will extend the services already offered by the club, to the benefit of PCYC Queensland members and Fortitude Valley locals, said state development minister Cameron Dick.

This is a great outcome for a club thats been a part of the social fabric of Fortitude Valley since 1965.

View post:
Approved office tower celebrates culture, identity and nature of Brisbane - Architecture AU

A Mar. 2020 International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) study found that at least 5,000 koalas (12% of the population) died in New South Wales (NSW) during the 2019-2020 Australian wildfires. The report notes that the estimates are conservative and many more koalas likely died.

The report found that up to 66% of the past three generations of NSW koalas have been lost to droughts, bushfires, and man-made causes.

Josey Sharrad, IFAW Wildlife Campaigner, stated, "Koalas were already living on the brink before these fires, with populations declining in many areas due to excessive land clearing, disease and roadkill and local extinctions already known to have occurred. This disaster and the ongoing nature of the threats could push koalas over the edge. This is a koala emergency. Koalas must be immediately up listed to Endangered on an emergency basis and a moratorium on all harmful activities impacting koalas enforced to allow surviving populations some breathing space while their capacity to recover is further assessed."

The New South Wales Rural Fire Service tweeted on Mar. 2, 2020, "For the first time since early July 2019, there is currently no active bush or grass fires in #NSW. Thats more than 240 days of fire activity for the state. #nswfires #nswrfs"

A World Weather Attribution study found that climate change increased the likelihood of wildfires like those in Australia by at least 30% since 1900. An increase of 2 degrees Celsius could make similar fire conditions at least four times more likely to occur.

2019 was the hottest and driest year on record in Australia. The wildfires burned over 12.6 million acres in NSW and 44.5 million acres country-wide (an area equivalent to the size of England and Wales), killing at least 34 people and about one billion animals, and destroying approximately 6,000 buildings.William Reville, emeritus professor of biochemistry at University College Cork in Ireland, said that other factors contributed to the Australian wildfires, such as the "failure to regularly reduce 'fuel load' in bush and forests," an insufficient supply of firefighters, and arson.

Sources:

International Fund for Animal Welfare, "IFAW Calls for Emergency Uplisting of NSW Koalas to Endangered after Report Reveals True Impact of Bushfires," ifaw.org, Mar. 3, 2020

Center for Disaster Philanthropy, "2019-2020 Australian Bushfires," disasterphilanthropy.org, Feb. 17, 2020

Drew Kann, "The Climate Crisis Made Australia's Wildfires at least 30% More Likely, Study Finds," cnn.com, Mar. 4, 2020

New South Wales Rural Fire Service, twitter.com, Mar. 2, 2020

William Reville, "Australian Bush Fires Were Not Caused by Climate Change Alone," irishtimes.com, Feb. 20, 2020

Tracey Shelton, "Australians Open Wallets, Hearts for Fire-ravaged Communities," aljazeera.com, Jan. 25, 2020

World Weather Attribution, "Attribution of the Australian Bushfire Risk to Anthropogenic Climate Change," worldweatherattribution.org, Jan. 10, 2020

Read more here:
Australian Wildfires Killed 12% of Koalas, Prompting Extinction Worries - ProCon.org

Karachi - Sindh Chief Secretary Syed Mumtaz Ali Shah has formed a Committee to carryout survey of the areas where the underpasses and the flyovers are to be built for clearing the track of Karachi Circular Railway (KCR).

He formed the Committee in a meeting on Monday when it was informed that roads have been built over the KCR tracks in the city and in order to clear the tracks, at least 24 underpasses and flyovers are needed to be built.

Mumtaz Ali Shah directed the Committee to submit its survey report latest by March 20. He also directed the secretary transport for undertaking the work of fencing at the land on both sides of Right of Way of railway and inviting tenders for this purpose within three days.

The concerned officers were also directed to submit detailed report to the transport department about the railway land cleared of all the encroachments so that fencing work could be started.

The meeting further discussed the matters relating to the plying the buses from stations to markets connecting the KCR to the main market places of metropolis. It would be pertinent to for the success of KCR in terms of increasing its ridership to introduce bus system from stations to market places, Mumtaz Shah said.

Chief Secretary directed the Chairman, Planning & Development Board to get prepared schemes for improving the roads and other infrastructures in the surroundings of KCR stations.

When the Divisional Superintendent of Railways pointed out that encroachments still exist at Urdu University and Karachi University Stations of KCR, the Chief Secretary directed Additional Commissioner Karachi to get the encroachments removed and submit the report.

Chief Secretary convening the next meeting on March 20, directed all the concerned to accomplish the tasks assigned to them including survey and submit the reports in next meeting.

Chairman, Planning & Development Board Muhammad Waseem, Advocate General Sindh Salman Talibuddin, Secretary Transport Ghulam Abbas, DS Railways Nasar Ahmed Memon and others attended the meeting.

Read the rest here:
Committee formed for survey of underpasses and flyovers - The Nation

Cody Coombs eased his Ford pickup along a rough dirt road in the Egan Mountains of eastern Nevada, a path once used by the Pony Express to negotiate these remote reaches of the Great Basin. We emerged from a rugged canyon strewn with mine debris into a ravaged landscape of stumps and severed limbsthe remnant of a once-thriving pion and juniper forest.

If I hadnt known where I was, I might have thought I was looking at an industrial clearcut. But Coombs, the fuels manager for the Bureau of Land Management district in Ely, Nevada, assured me that what we were looking at was undertaken in the service of conservation. Wed entered a small fragment of the Egan and Johnson Basin Restoration Project, which, over the next decade, will remove 25,000 acres of pion and juniper forest. This is but one of a host of projects aimed at eliminating vast stretches of these native forests, which, some claim, are encroaching across vast swaths of the Great Basin and the Colorado Plateau at an unprecedented clip.

We continued on, with the November sun blazing overhead, and passed through a valley filled with cattle into an area of low hills covered in a dense stand of pion trees. The temperature dropped noticeably. The pions, some of them 30 or 40 feet tall, were covered in seed-heavy cones. Beneath the trees grew a variety of native plants, which sprouted from a robust layer of cryptobiotic soila vital crust of microorganisms that holds moisture within desert soils and prevents erosion.

Rather than a healthy, mature pion forest, Coombs saw something else entirely. As [pion and juniper] become more dense, we lose the shrub, grass, and forb understory, Coombs explained. It doesnt provide all the functionality we need for animals as well as infiltration of water. He added that dense stands of trees like this also pose a serious fire risk, though it was hard to see, more than 20 miles from the closest town, exactly what was being threatened.

In the upcoming months, Coombs explained, two bulldozers would drag a massive chain through this stand, tearing out trees and scouring the soil in order to open it up for sagebrush. His argument was the same as the one Ive heard time and again from BLM range managers: Native pion and juniper trees, which provide habitat for dozens of plants, native birds, reptiles, insects, and mammals, pose an existential threat to sage grouse. Thus, the trees must be eliminated.

*

In recent years, the greater sage grousea chicken-size bird known for its exuberant mating dancehas had an ostrich-size influence on land policy across the American West. According to the Audubon Society, the sage grouse has lost 90 percent of its historic habitat to oil and gas development, habitat fragmentation, and overgrazing

The BLM has responded by destroying hundreds of thousands of acres of pion and juniper forests. According to the BLM, between 2013 and 2018, the agency spent close to $300 million treating and restoring 2.7 million acres of sagebrush-steppe habitat across the West. It should be noted that treating and restoring (along with the equally vague conifer removal) are euphemisms for chaining, cutting, poisoning, and burning pion and juniper forests.

Indeed, sage grouse protection has become virtually synonymous with the razing of huge tracts of arid land forests. Take, for example, the Bruneau-Owyhee Sage-Grouse Habitat Project, which calls for the elimination of 726,000 acres1,110 square milesof juniper forest in the remote Owyhee Mountains straddling Idaho, Oregon, and Nevada in the coming years. Removing encroaching juniper, reads a BLM press release, will improve conditions for greater sage grouse and many other species that depend on a healthy sagebrush-steppe ecosystem.

Critics arent buying its purported benefits to grouse and instead see the destruction of pion and juniper forests as the perpetuation of old policies of destruction couched in the new buzzwords of ecological stewardship. Whileagenciesspend huge sums committing ecocide against native forests, the cattle and the oil and gas and mining industries continue to destroy the birds habitat, said Katie Fite, public lands director of Wildlands Defense, an Idaho-based environmental group.

Mass removal of pion and juniper forests is nothing new. The forests, for example, were cleared across vast stretches of the Great Basin to provide fuel for smelters during the Gold Rush. In the mid 20th century, millions of acres of pion and juniper woodlands were, in the parlance of federal land agencies, eradicated and converted to sprawling pastures planted with crested wheatgrass and other exotic grasses. The cutting of native forests as a means to protect threatened species is a far more recent development, Fite said.

The BLM and the Forest Service used to openly admit they were destroying P-J forests to get more cattle forage, Fite said. Then, ashazardousfuels and sage grouse funds flowed,the same chaining, cutting,burning deforestation schemes were touted as fire prevention and grouse conservation.

Many large pion-juniper removal projects currently underway can be traced to 2015, the year that thenInterior Secretary Sally Jewell announced an ambitious cooperative plan in an effort to keep sage grouse off the endangered species list. That year, the BLM established 14 sage grouse recovery plans in an effort to conserve 35 million acres of federal lands in 10 states.

The hope, says Brian Rutledge, Audubon vice president and director of the Sagebrush Ecosystem Initiative, is that a collaborative rather than punitive approach would be better to restore sage grouse, which he described as the avian equivalent of the bison in the sagebrush sea of the West. The SEI, founded in 2010 as part of the United States Department of Agricultures Working Lands for Wildlife program, has been a key player in the 2015 plan. It is a diverse and disparate coalition made up of industry and environmental groups, including the Audubon Society, the Nature Conservancy, Conoco-Phillips, and the National Cattlemens Beef Association, which, according to the groups tagline, supports wildlife conservation through sustainable ranching.

The SEI was created to slow the decline of sagebrush and the species that depend on it, explained Rutledge. The USDA responded by working with ranchers and with gas developers to slow the disturbance and to actively try to return some of the habitat to its historical carrying capacity.

But under the Trump administration, Rutledge says, science and collaboration has been abandoned in favor of a blatantly pro-corporate agenda. Last March, for example, the BLM reneged on the 2015 sage grouse plans, eliminating more than 80 percent of the 10.7 million acres designated as vital habitat. In addition, the BLM loosened rules requiring buffer zones around mating sites. It also made voluntary the compensatory mitigation requirement, which forced energy companies to replace damaged habitat with restored habitat elsewhere.

*

Back in the Egan Range, Coombs drove to a so-called lek site, where, during mating season in spring, male sage grouse perform elaborate mating dances to woo females. Hundreds of trees had recently been cut from the area and its vegetation was reduced to little more than a thin beige stubble by grazing cattle.

Not only was the lek free of trees, but it was also conspicuously devoid of sagebrush. Coombs assured me that the lack of cover is no impediment to the birds. Sage grouse love heavily grazed areas, he said. It allows the males to display without any kind of obstruction. They seek these areas out.

Rutledge of Audubon says that clearing trees to create sage grouse habitat is not a panacea, but that in places it should be undertaken on a site by site basis in order to aid grouse recovery. Every vertical structure to a sage grouse is a potential roost for an eagle or a hawk, said Rutledge.

Other ecologists I spoke with, however, disputed the idea that pion and juniper forests are death-traps for grouse. Laura Cunningham, California director for the environmental group Western Watersheds, says that evidence shows the birds thrive in a mosaic of sagebrush and coniferous forest.

Cunningham, who worked for many years as a field biologist for the US Geological Survey, says that ravens, not raptors, pose the greatest threat to grouse. The wide-scale transformation of pion-juniper forest to exotic grasslands (like those found throughout the valleys of the Egan Range) has given ravens a decisive advantage. Ravens dont perch on trees to hunt, she said. Cunningham notes that sage grouse are highly susceptible to raven predation in these artificial grasslands, particularly in heavily grazed areas, because there is virtually no cover. [Ravens] are a flight predator, and they see the chicks from the air.

Katie Fite concurs, adding that it is not grouse or sagebrush ecosystems but grazers, miners, and oil developers who are benefitting from the BLMs relentless campaign against the Wests arid-land forests.

Cheatgrass is exploding and grouse populations are hurtling toward extinction, Fite said. Extinction, of course, ultimately benefits industry.

Original post:
Is Pinon-Juniper Clearing Really the Answer to Sage Grouse Protection? - Sierra Magazine

It can be impossible to keep all the dietary buzzwords straightvegan, pescatarian, flexitarian, paleofruitiarian? So where does "plant-based" eating fit in?

First of all, unlike some of these other concepts, plant-based eating is not a diet, and its definitely not a passing fad. Its simply a new label for an eating style that has been around forever, says nutritionist Wendy Bazilian, Dr.P.H., R.D.N. Its a guide, a road map to help you move toward health, while allowing for a lot of flexibility.

Plant-based covers a lot of dietary ground. Bazilian points out that a while a vegan diet is certainly plant-based, so is a lifestyle in which you eat vegetarian most of the time, but indulge in turkey on Thanksgiving, or your mothers pot roast during Sunday dinner. In fact, some of the worlds most popularand healthiestdiets, are plant-based by nature, while still including small amounts of meat. The Mediterranean diet, widely considered to be one of the healthiest eating styles in the world, includes fish, chicken, some low-fat dairy, and the occasional bite of red meat.

Some of the worlds most popularand healthiestdiets, are plant-based by nature.

The American diet has long featured a big hunk of meat in the center of the plate, with a few vegetables scattered on the side as an afterthought. Plant-based simply means switching that equation around. Food grown from the earth, such as vegetables, fruits, beans, nuts, and whole grains, are front and centerbasically, the A-listers of your platewhile food derived from animals, such as beef, poultry, fish, and dairy, play more of a supporting role. Its not all-or-nothing, says Bazilian, who is also an ambassador for California Walnuts. You dont have to go entirely meat-free to be more plant-based. Plant-based also means eating more whole foods, while cutting down on processed foods.

Henrik SorensenGetty Images

As Bazilian points out, not all plant-based diets are equal. You can eat potato chips, white rice, and carrot cake and call it plant-based, but it will not do much for your health or weight. In fact, one large study found that while a plant-based diet focused on whole grains, fruits, and vegetables significantly lowered the risk of cardiovascular disease, a "plant-based" diet that included high-sugar, high-fat, processed foods such as sweets and soda, as well as refined grains and potatoes, had the opposite effect.

But if you stick with the plant-based foods you know are actually healthy, the benefits can include:

A lower risk of developing type-2 diabetes

A lower risk of heart disease

A lower risk of developing cancer

A lower rate of cognitive decline

A potentially higher rate of fertility

Even more important: If you're concerned with the increasingly alarming news about climate change, switching to a plant-based diet can help the planet by reducing global greenhouse emissions, reducing land clearing, and helping preserve the habitats of endangered species.

Because "plant-based diet" is such a broad term, there is no clear answer about this, but everything points to yes for weight loss, says Bazilian. Vegetables are high in nutrients and low in calories, she explains. Plus they have higher satiety, so you dont have those energy highs and lows, and you dont get as many cravings. In one study, overweight and obese subjects who followed a low-fat, whole-food, plant-based diet (with no calorie restrictions) for six months lost an average of 26 pounds.

Henrik SorensenGetty Images

Though it takes a little more planning, you can get all the protein you need from plants. In fact, Bazilian points out that several world-class athletes, including the most powerful of them all, Serena Williams, thrive on vegan or plant-based diets. Here are some protein-packed plant-based options:

Tofu, 13 g protein per 3 oz. (try Hodo Moroccan Tofu Cubes)

Walnuts, 4g protein per 1/4 cup. (try this Walnut Balsamic Spinach Salad recipe)

Tempeh, 16g protein per 3 oz (try Lightlife Organic Tempeh)

Edamame, 12 g protein per 2/3 cup (try this Edamame Hummus recipe)

Chickpeas, 7g per 1/2 cup (try Banza Chickpea pastas)

Black beans. 7g protein per 1/2 cup. (try this Santa Fe Corn Salad recipe)

Peanut butter, 7g protein per 2 Tbsp (try Justin's Classic Peanut Butter)

Steel Cut Oats, 4g protein per 1/2 cup (try Bob's Red Mill Organic Steel Cut Oats)

Quinoa, 8g protein per 1/4 cup (try Lundberg Organic Tri-Color Quinoa)

Start by adding more plants to meals you already love, Bazilian suggests. "There are 21 meals in a week, so start by adding add fruits or vegetables to one a day. For example, if you eat eggs and toast for breakfast, add salsa, spinach, or avocado. If you add a soup or salad to your lunch or dinner every day, you'll be getting nutrient-dense vegetables."

As for your main dishes, Bazilian points out that while the popular new meatless meats, such as the Impossible Burger and Beyond Meat, are plant-based, they are also highly processed. You can get that meaty satisfaction from foods that are inherently healthy and not processed, like burgers made from mushrooms, or chorizo made from walnuts and black beans, she says.

"Transition to a plant-based diet step-by-step, and its easy," says Bazilian. "Its a no-risk proposition."

Like what you just read? Youll love our magazine! Go here to subscribe. Dont miss a thing by downloading Apple News here and following Prevention. Oh, and were on Instagram too.

Read more here:
Here's Exactly What You Can and Can't Eat on a Plant-Based Diet - Prevention.com

THE celebrated Australian inventors behind the Flow Hive have launched an online education platform to save beekeepers endless hours of trawling through forums and videos.

Flow Hive has invested nearly $500,000 and two years creating the online portal to help educate novice backyard beekeepers and encourage conservation.

The portal features contributions from leading academics, researchers, educators, scientists, and authors.

Some of the experts who have contributed to TheBeekeeper.org website are: Professor Dave Goulson, a Professor of Biology at the University of Sussex, who specialises in bumblebee ecology and conservation; Doug Purdie, co-founder of The Urban Beehive, an initiative that maintains more than 80 beehives on city rooftops, balconies, backyards and in community gardens around Sydney; and James Dorey, a photographer who is currently completing his PhD at Flinders University in Adelaide, looking at the evolution, taxonomy and ecology of Australian and Fijian native bees.

Flow Hive's co-inventor, Cedar Anderson, said while his journey started as an apiarist and quickly turned to the problem-solving task of creating the Flow Hive, bee knowledge had increasingly become a bigger a part of his life.

"The bee knowledge started from keeping hives as kid, but I learnt more as I started a commercial apiary," he said.

Flow Hive continues to take the world by storm.

"I've learnt so much from so many beekeepers from around the world, and talked to so many beekeepers, and to new beekeepers, researching things to answer their questions.

"We have this new product TheBeekeeper.org and we are learning very in-depth information that is fascinating.

"It (beekeeing) is a never-ending learning journey and that's the wonderful thing because it never gets boring."

There isn't a lot of information out there for beginners wanting to access accurate and high quality information when starting out, Mr Anderson said.

"But any beekeeper, regardless of experience, has a responsibility to be acutely aware of the myriad of pests and diseases that the commercial industry is working to protect the industry from," he said.

"It's often said that if you ask two beekeepers one question, you'll get three different answers.

"Beekeeping practices vary greatly in every region, which is why it's so important that beginners have access to expert beekeeping support so they can maintain healthy bees and develop into knowledgeable beekeepers."

Half of the profits made via the online education platform will support habitat regeneration and advocacy for the protection of pollinators.

Flow Hive continues to take the world by storm.

One of the first projects to be funded will see the natural habitats of the green carpenter bee replaced.

These creatures were once prolific from northern NSW down to Kangaroo Island.

Now, the bees are only found in scattered areas after years of land clearing and bushfires destroyed many bee nests.

Flow Hive has also released another new product which is the Flow Hive 2, with seven frames in a western cedar wood.

"It's very popular in North America and Australia," he said.

"That's their favourite wood type for beehives over there and it has been a popular request for some time."

See original here:
This website has the latest buzz from beekeeping experts - Northern Star

IJM Corp Bhd(March 9, RM1.84)Upgrade to hold with a lower target price of RM1.93: IJM Corp Bhds current construction order book is at RM4.5 billion 32% of which constitutes buildings, infrastructure (11%) and roads (56%) declining from RM5.1 billion in the second quarter ended Sept 30, 2019 (2QFY20). Its outstanding tender book is about RM4 billion consisting of domestic projects equally split between infrastructure and building jobs, excluding The Light City project in Penang and the East Coast Rail Link.

For the Light City, terms are being finalised with joint-venture partner Perennial Real Estate Holdings Ltd and an award worth about RM650 million to RM700 million of external construction works could materialise in 1QFY21. The management is confident in maintaining construction profit before tax (PBT) margins at between 6% and 9%, with material prices remaining conducive at the current levels. The construction PBT margin dipping to 5.9% in 3QFY20 was mainly due to higher finance costs concerning a highway project and is not expected to recur.

IJM Corp remains on track to achieve its sales target of RM1.6 billion for the financial year ending March 31, 2020 (FY20) after hitting sales of RM1.2 billion for the cumulative nine months of financial year 2020 (9MFY20). Sales have been mainly driven by projects such as Shah Alam 2, Seremban 2 and Rimbayu. For the first half of 2020 (1H20), IJM Corp is planning to launch projects with a cumulative value of about RM1.4 billion anchored by Rimbayu and Riana Dutamas.

Separately, the management revealed the Royal Mint project in London with a gross development value of 200 million was handed over to buyers in 4Q19 with a take-up of 90%. For the companys property segment, a comfortable PBT margins of above 10% are anticipated.

Its throughput at Kuantan Port remains healthy amid the Covid-19 outbreak. We understand from the management that Alliance Steel (M) Sdn Bhd with an estimated throughput of seven to 10 metre freight weight tonnes per annum is unaffected so far.

Prospects for a sustained throughput growth are intact with new Malaysia-China Kuantan Industrial Park investors such as Maxtrek Tyres for the land clearing phase and NewOcean Energy pending an environmental assessment. Recent investors such as ICP and Camel Power (M) Sdn Bhd started operations on Aug 19 and Oct 19 respectively.

The highway remains a drag on IJM Corps bottom line as at 3QFY20, with share of associate losses of RM27.3 million, bringing the 9MFY20 sum to -RM73.8 million against 9MFY19s RM30.8 million. The quarter saw sections 5, 9 and 10 of the highway opened in September and on Dec 19 respectively, in addition to section 8 opened on May 19, resulting in interest being expensed off (it was previously capitalised).

We gathered all the opened sections began collecting toll fees in January and on March 20 upon which an amortisation recognition starts.

Based on our understanding, sections 1, 2, 3 and 6 of the Selangor stretch are slated to open in 2021 and where we expect a pickup in the overall traffic volume. For the near term, we anticipate a widening loss contribution as a significant volume pickup is unlikely until the Selangor stretch opens.

Our FY20, FY21 and FY22 earnings forecasts are cut by 6.6%, 18.1% and 17.2% after factoring in widening losses from the share of associates offset by increasing our replenishment assumptions for FY21 from RM1 billion to RM1.7 billion after accounting potential wins from the ECRL and The Light City. Hong Leong Investment Bank Research, March 9

Read the rest here:
IJM Corp expected to remain on track to meet FY20 sales target - The Edge Markets MY